Score

Stat of the Game

w/ Rashad Mobley

Bench, Mobbed.In the first half, Shelvin Mack, Chris Singleton, Roger Mason, Cartier Martin, and Maurice Evans played almost 32 minutes combined. They went 0-for-8 from the field (including 0-for-3 from the 3-point line). When the Wizards starters came out of the game, the game was tied at 22, but by halftime the Wizards were down seven points.

Scene of the Game

AirWolf!!!

The coyote of the desert likes to eat the heart of the young and the blood drips down to his children for breakfast, lunch and dinner and only the ribs will be broken.

D.C. Flag 3-Star Ratings

w/ Rashad Mobley, John Converse Townsend
and Kyle Weidie

<***> Rating the Starting 5, Bench & Coach out of 3 stars.

John Wall

KYLE WEIDIE: Wall had absolutely superb night with his jumper, which means he went 4-for-10 from 16-23 feet and the shooting mechanics of one attempt barely looked like the next. Sometimes Wall unnecessarily fades away. Sometimes, often, he has a leg kick. Sometimes it looks like Wall is actually releasing the ball on his way down. The only consistent thing is Wall holding his follow-through. Yea, he put up numbers (19 points, nine assists) because he stayed in the game athletically, but you can’t tell me that off-target passes lacking crispness show that Wall’s head was completely in the game. Crappy team? Crappy season? Teammates who Deron Williams says aren’t the smartest guys in the world? Mere excuses. After all, what exactly are No. 1 picks supposed to be made of?1.25 Stars(out of 3)

MOBLEY: 19 points and 9 assists is a nice stat line for John Wall, until you realize it came against the Cleveland Cavaliers — specifically, Donald Sloan and former Wizards guard Lester Hudson. When his jumper appeared and then abandoned him in the first half, Wall became a passive player, which is sad considering he was able to get to the basket at will when he tried. The Wizards needed 25-30 points out of Wall on Saturday night, and he didn’t deliver.1.5 Stars

TOWNSEND: Wall had a nice bounce-back game with 19 points and nine assists after a miserable showing at Madison Square Garden, where he missed all but two of his 12. With the depleted Cavaliers doing their best to get back in transition, Wall decided to make them pay with mid-range jumpers, and almost succeeded: the Game Changer went 8-for-16 from the field and 4-for-10 on jump shots in another losing effort.1.75 Stars

TOTAL: 4.5 out of 9 stars

Jordan Crawford

RASHAD MOBLEY: Crawford didn’t play as badly as he did on Friday night in New York, when he shot for 6-for-20, but his influence on the game was just as minimal. Crawford hit tough shots here and there, but he never settled into one of those rhythms where it seems like he cannot be stopped. And sadly, he still has a bad habit of waving off John Wall’s attempts to get the ball, calling his own number, and then throwing up a bad shot. How’s that for backcourt chemistry?1.25 Stars (out of 3)

TOWNSEND: Crawford scored 18, one point better than his season average as a starter. But what really impressed how Crawford put the ball through the hoop; he showed more restraint with the ball near the arc, where he missed five of his seven shots, and instead chose to attack the paint, where Crawford went 6-for-9 on layups. More of that, please.2 Stars

WEIDIE: Crawford may often turn the ball over trying to do too much, and he may not be as good of a 3-point shooter to be taking so many long distance shots in the manner that he takes them — the one 3 he made came composed and off a screen; he went straight up and straight down. However, give the guy credit: he’s been driving to the hoop a lot more lately. Want proof? In the past four games, Crawford is averaging 6.7 attempts at the rim and is making 5.6 of them. In the previous 56 games: 3.2 attempts at the rim and 1.7 makes per game. Now if the coaches could get JC to consistently commit to smart defense.1.75 Stars

TOTAL: 5 out of 9 stars

Chris Singleton

KYLE WEIDIE: You see Chris Singleton snag a nice offensive rebound (he had two rebounds in 19 minutes); or you see him smartly see the defense, get his hand in the passing lane and get a steal (he had three of those Saturday night); or you see him hit a compose mid-range jumper. You see all this and you think…. ‘cool’. But otherwise, Singleton is mostly a disappearing act. I know it’s a catchphrase that’s over-used, especially around draft time, so how should I put this? Chris, we can barely hear your motor. Rev it up some already. I’ll end this with a question: Is Alonzo Gee better than Chris Singleton?0.75 Star

MOBLEY: Singleton was semi-active on the defensive end, as evidenced by his two blocks and his three steals. He does not look to shoot, he doesn’t slash to the basket, draw fouls, hit 3-pointers, or anything else. If the 18th pick in the draft cannot have a distinguishable game against a Cavaliers team full of D-League players, what good is he?0.25 Star

TOWNSEND: Another “Chris Singleton performance” from Chris Singleton. I don’t like his chances of remaining the starter at small forward after the season, but I’m looking forward to seeing how Singleton will improve his game over the summer. He will, right?0.5 Star

TOTAL: 1.5 out of 9 stars

Jan Vesely

JOHN CONVERSE TOWNSEND: Vesely picked up his second career double-double four games after his first, recording 11 points, 11 rebounds (tying his career high), two assists, one steal, and one block. He looks comfortable logging extra minutes, playing 36 on Saturday night and averaging 30.7 minutes per game in April, but you’d like to see Vesely do a better job defending game-MVP Luke Harangody, the D-League call-up who had a double-double of his own.2 Stars

MOBLEY: Vesely is the opposite of Chris Singleton. The more playing time he gets, the more potential he shows. He continues to be aggressive with his offense (with mixed results), and he kept a few possessions alive with his offensive rebounding (he had 6 offensive rebounds and 11 total). Vesely did allow Harangody to play like a 10-year veteran, but he’s a summer or two in the weight room away from being an effective defensive player.1.75 Stars

WEIDIE: One thing you always know with Vesely is that if he’s having a poor game offensively, or passing-wise, or if he just can’t shoot the ball at all anyway, he’s going to find ways to significantly impact the game in a positive manner. On this night against Cleveland, six of his 11 rebounds were offensive. Proven hustle. Now, however… he needs to get up 500,000 shots this summer, at least… and all jumping straight up and down. Also, Luke Harangody scored a lot of his points versus Jan. Some was luck, much of it was muscle.1.75 Stars

TOTAL: 5.5 out of 9 stars

Kevin Seraphin

RASHAD MOBLEY: There is no question that Seraphin has what it takes to be a productive big man from an offensive standpoint. He can score on hooks, up and unders, and from 10-15 feet. The only time is number was consistently called was in the second quarter, and Kevin delivered with 11 points. But his inability to rebound, especially against the front line of Alonzo Gee, Luke Harangody and rookie Tristan Thompson is disappointing.1.5 Stars(out of 3)

TOWNSEND: Seraphin scored 15 points against the Cavs and has now scored 10 or more points in 10 consecutive starts at center. Fun fact: Seraphin is closing on on a streak set by Gheorghe Muresan in 1995-96, where he scored 10 or more points in 16 consecutive starts. If Seraphin, an average defensive rebounder, were to not be so quick to leave his feet when defending the rim, he’d be in a better position for defensive rebounds. Four rebounds in 35 minutes…?1.5 Stars

WEIDIE: Must improve: lateral movement. Seraphin was just unable to contain Tristan Thompson’s forays into the lane — the Cavs rookie had 14 points, six going hard at Kevin in the first quarter. But Kevin had scoring moves of his own. It’s really nice that the Wizards can throw it to him on either block, and he can be a threat to score with either hand, or to pass. Sometimes Kevin relied too much on his soft touch against Cleveland when he should have tried to bang more on the blocks. Teaching moment: the Cavs ran a double at Kevin early in the third; he turned away from the defenders, toward the baseline, and turned his back to passing lanes and teammates. The result was a turnover. The very next timeout it was evident on T.V. that Randy Wittman was coaching Seraphin on this very point, showing him not to pivot himself into a corner. Kevin has proven that he can learn, and that’s the most encouraging thing about that scene.1.75 stars

TOTAL: 4.75 out of 9 stars

The Bench

JOHN CONVERSE TOWNSEND: James Singleton saved what would have been an anemic effort from the Wizards bench, which was shut-out in the first half, with 13 points and six rebounds, and played well enough to make Roger Mason’s talents expendable. Speaking of Mason, he was a frosty 1-of-6 from the field. Cartier Martin and Shelvin Mack went a combined 3-for-13. The unit racked up a bunch of personal foul calls which contributed to a 33-12 disparity from the free throw line, an “X-Factor” in the game.0.75 Star(out of 3)

Sub Man of the Game: James Singleton

MOBLEY: Individually, James Singleton looked and played strong, Roger Mason and Cartier Martin had off nights (we know now Mason needs surgery), and Shelvin Mack was virtually non-existed. Collectively, the bench went scoreless in the first half, while the Cavaliers bench scored 16 during that same span.1 Star

Sub Man of the Game: James Singleton

WEIDIE: Shelvin Mack got handled by Lester Hudson as soon as he checked in; Cartier Martin was cold from the field and luke-warm on defense; Roger Mason was shooting with a broken finger on his non-shooting hand, so he went 1-for-6; Mo Evans had the rare absolute zero stat line (aside from this minus-1 plus/minus) in 5:14 of action… Hey, James Singleton’s willingness to shoot jumpers and bang on the glass wins out!0.5 Star

Sub Man of the Game: James Singleton

BENCH TOTAL: 2.25 out of 9 stars

The Coach: Randy Wittman

KYLE WEIDIE: Who’s job is it to find pride? That’s got to be on the players, right? Especially after getting embarrassed beyond the equivalent of the worst thing in the world to happen to an eighth grader in New York the night before. It was clear that the Cavs were more focused in their ability to hit jumpers and more aggressive in their will to play defense. Is that Wittman’s fault? No, not at all. But you’d think a spark would at least be worth a couple technical fouls and a Bobby Knight-esque ejection. After all, we keep talking about Witt being a disciple of the General.1 Star

MOBLEY: Coach Byron Scott had a starting five that only a D-League coach could love and appreciate, and his team still played hard (although it wasn’t pretty) for four quarters. Coach Wittman’s team was coming off an abysmal loss to the Knicks, but the Wizards did not look ready to play at all. There were at least 5-10 instances where Wittman would throw up his hands, shake his head, and sit on the bench in disgust.1 Star

TOWNSEND: “We never had any control of the game,” said Randy Wittman in his post-game presser. “Our focus coming out of timeouts was not very good.” The Wizards, with Wittman at the helm, were not very good for the second consecutive night.1.25 Stars

COACH TOTAL: 3.25 out of 9 stars

Seen on the Screen

A blur of John Wall…

Results notwithstanding, it took John Wall about three seconds to jet from one baseline and into his shooting motion at the left elbow at the opposite end of the court. Now that jumper…

End Scene

QUOTE OF THE NIGHT:

“I didn’t want anyone to hit it so I kept it quiet. Plus I wanted to keep playing thru it to show young guys toughness and leadership.”-Roger Mason texting the Washington Post before ending his season to have surgery on a broken finger; the Wizards will likely waive him.

Kyle founded TAI in 2007 and has been weaving in and out the world of Wizards ever since, ducking WittmanFaces, jumping over G-Wiz, and avoiding stints on the DNP-Conditioning list. He has covered the Washington pro basketball team as a member of the media since 2009. Kyle lives in D.C. with his wife, loves basketball, and has no pets.

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Truth About It.net, Washington Wizards Blog, ESPN TrueHoop Network -- Following the D.C. pro basketball franchise since the 90s and covering them in blog form since 2007 -- Opinion, Analysis, Irreverence, Pictures, Video, Interviews, Photoshops, News, Video, Quotes, Shares, and all the pixels about the Washington Wizards you can imagine.